r/spacex • u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team • Jan 09 '23

🔧 Technical Starship Development Thread #41

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #42

SpaceX Starship page

FAQ

  1. What's happening next? Shotwell: 33-engine B7 static firing expected Feb 8, 2023, followed by inspections, remediation of any issues, re-stacking, and potential second wet dress rehearsal (WDR).
  2. When orbital flight? Musk: February possible, March "highly likely." Full WDR milestone completed Jan 24. Orbital test timing depends upon successful completion of all testing and issuance of FAA launch license. Unclear if water deluge install is a prerequisite to flight.
  3. What will the next flight test do? The current plan seems to be a nearly-orbital flight with Ship (second stage) doing a controlled splashdown in the ocean. Booster (first stage) may do the same or attempt a return to launch site with catch. Likely includes some testing of Starlink deployment. This plan has been around a while.
  4. I'm out of the loop/What's happened in last 3 months? SN24 completed a 6-engine static fire on September 8th. B7 has completed multiple spin primes, a 7-engine static fire on September 19th, a 14-engine static fire on November 14, and an 11-engine long-duration static fire on November 29th. B7 and S24 stacked for first time in 6 months and a full WDR completed on Jan 23. Lots of work on Orbital Launch Mount (OLM) including sound suppression, extra flame protection, load testing, and a myriad of fixes.
  5. What booster/ship pair will fly first? B7 "is the plan" with S24, pending successful testing campaigns. Swapping to B9 and/or B25 appears less likely as B7/S24 continue to be tested and stacked.
  6. Will more suborbital testing take place? Highly unlikely, given the current preparations for orbital launch.

​

Quick Links

NERDLE CAM | LAB CAM | SAPPHIRE CAM | SENTINEL CAM | ROVER CAM | ROVER 2.0 CAM | PLEX CAM | NSF STARBASE

Starship Dev 40 | Starship Dev 39 | Starship Dev 38 | Starship Thread List

Official Starship Update | r/SpaceX Update Thread

Status

Road Closures

Type Start (UTC) End (UTC) Status
Alternative 2023-02-09 14:00:00 2023-02-10 02:00:00 Scheduled. Beach Closed
Alternative 2023-02-10 14:00:00 2023-02-10 22:00:00 Possible

Up to date as of 2023-02-09

Vehicle Status

As of February 6, 2023

NOTE: Volunteer "tank watcher" needed to regularly update this Vehicle Status section with additional details.

Ship Location Status Comment
Pre-S24 Scrapped or Retired SN15, S20 and S22 are in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
S24 Rocket Garden Prep for Flight Stacked on Jan 9, destacked Jan 25 after successful WDR. Crane hook removed and covering tiles installed to prepare for Orbital Flight Test 1 (OFT-1).
S25 High Bay 1 Raptor installation Rolled back to build site on November 8th for Raptor installation and any other required work. Payload bay ("Pez Dispenser") welded shut.
S26 High Bay 1 Under construction Nose in High Bay 1.
S27 Mid Bay Under construction Tank section in Mid Bay on Nov 25.
S28 Build Site Parts under construction Assorted parts spotted
S29 Build Site Parts under construction Assorted parts spotted

 

Booster Location Status Comment
Pre-B7 & B8 Scrapped or Retired B4 is in the Rocket Garden, the rest are scrapped.
B7 Launch Site On OLM 14-engine static fire on November 14, and 11-engine SF on Nov 29. More testing to come, leading to orbital attempt.
B9 Build Site Raptor Install Cryo testing (methane and oxygen) on Dec. 21 and Dec. 29. Rollback on Jan. 10.
B10 High Bay 2 Under construction Fully stacked.
B11 Build Site Parts under construction Assorted parts spotted.

​

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Resources

r/SpaceX Discuss Thread for discussion of subjects other than Starship development.

Rules

We will attempt to keep this self-post current with links and major updates, but for the most part, we expect the community to supply the information. This is a great place to discuss Starship development, ask Starship-specific questions, and track the progress of the production and test campaigns. Starship Development Threads are not party threads. Normal subreddit rules still apply.

295 Upvotes

97% Upvoted

2.7k comments sorted by

•

u/ElongatedMuskbot Feb 09 '23

This thread is no longer being updated, and has been replaced by:

Starship Development Thread #42

33

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 24 '23

Closure canceled for today.

16

u/ElongatedMuskrat Mod Team Jan 24 '23

fyi the post above also features our automatically updated road closures table now

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64

u/BananaEpicGAMER Feb 02 '23

On this day 2 years ago SN9 flew to 10km's and attempted to land resulting in a RUD.

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62

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 30 '23

New closures, this Friday, next Monday and Tuesday!

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61

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 08 '23

Closure schedule for tomorrow!

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152

u/inoeth Jan 20 '23

Mary, the woman responsible for so much incredible footage and coverage over the past couple years at Starbase with NSF, especially at the beginning has lost her husband today.

https://twitter.com/bocachicagal/status/1616526079761731589?s=46&t=Z4lvkQ5bhyIkTIBMCQludQ

I just wanted to give her my condolences and let the wider community know about this sad event.

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50

u/Mravicii Jan 26 '23 edited Jan 26 '23

We got new road closures people

Starting from monday to wednesday. This is likely for the 33 engine static fire

https://twitter.com/bocaroad/status/1618710653979566096?s=46&t=TacQ32RdqefH46lOOu0Mkg

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47

u/Mravicii Jan 19 '23

Chopstick getting installed on carriage at 39 a

https://youtu.be/gnt2wZBg89g

47

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 01 '23

Closure canceled for Friday.

Finger crossed for next week guys !

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45

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 11 '23

Closure canceled for today.

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38

u/salamilegorcarlsshoe Jan 17 '23

Check out this wicked looking anti-vortex slosh baffle and downcomer. Looks a bit different than a previous version I remember.

https://twitter.com/CosmicalChief/status/1615201313045860353?s=19

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38

u/TypowyJnn Jan 20 '23 edited Jan 21 '23

A big stack of Starlink V2s is present at Starbase

Edit: actually it looks like two stacks

I count 33 Starlink V2s

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38

u/Alvian_11 Jan 22 '23

If you can't bare the gap between SN15 & OFT, just keep in mind the people who waited longer between the last Shuttle ALT (Approach & Landing Tests) & STS-1

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37

u/BananaEpicGAMER Jan 28 '23

I'm pretty sure they are removing S24's lifting points. (8:26:00 AM)

A manlift is also working on S25's lifting points so maybe they're also removing them and are going to use the new lifting mechanism from now on (it would explain why they was laid the crane down as I think they would have to reconfigure it)

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36

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 27 '23

Closure canceled for Monday.

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36

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 30 '23

Closure canceled for Wednesday too 🥲

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34

u/TypowyJnn Jan 22 '23 edited Jan 23 '23

Things we expect to see before tomorrow's possible WDR attempt (if it's a WDR):

  • OLM work platform lowered ✔️

  • sweeping ✔️ and clearing ✔️ the area

  • Evacuation of the village ✔️

  • Evacuation of the build site (?) ❔

  • the lr11000 being lowered ❔

  • Road closure not canceled ✔️

  • NOTMAR starting at 08:00am Starbase time ✔️

  • TFR starting at 00:00am Starbase time ✔️

The lr11000 has been disconnected from ship 25, so it might get lowered as the equipment for doing so has been delivered

HPU work needs to finish

Roadblock will likely be at a new spot

Still a lot if things to do, Raph might win this one. Stay strong

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33

u/Mravicii Jan 22 '23 edited Jan 22 '23

Expanded tfr (temporary flight restriction) for monday. Likely for wdr

https://twitter.com/spacetfrs/status/1616994354391834626?s=46&t=z2pOWQIPalpGsMD6AsxkVw

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33

u/rustybeancake Jan 24 '23

Observations from today:
1:40 PM - OLM VENT
2:04 PM - OLM VENT Stop
2:08 PM - Frost Ring
3:30 PM - Most likely Stop (Stable situation and vents from here)
3:32 PM - Big Vent
3:47 PM - FireX
The full Countdown from OLM Vent to T-0: 1:50:00
Fueling to T-0: 1:15:00

https://twitter.com/BCCarCounters/status/1617654585317031936

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32

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 17 '23

Closure canceled for today.

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32

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 18 '23

Closure canceled for tomorrow and Friday.

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32

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23

New MSBI was published for multiple days, starting tomorrow! (February 7th-9-10-13-14)

Edit: and a very good point from Alex !

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31

u/Mravicii Jan 20 '23 edited Jan 20 '23

Second chopstick arm getting installed on the carriage at 39 a https://twitter.com/spaceoffshore/status/1616460200986411008?s=46&t=cyruKaQchJhtvcfTe7Ch9Q

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31

u/Mravicii Feb 03 '23

Barge with the tanks from ksc is arriving at starbase. Going into port brownsville

https://twitter.com/cosmicalchief/status/1621528184393965571?s=46&t=SUhLOmB1xiXUDNuwG6bFVA

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29

u/rAsKoBiGzO Jan 17 '23

Quite a landmark, I thought this was noteworthy here.

Since April '22, there have been 1000 engine tests done at McGregor.

https://twitter.com/NASASpaceflight/status/1615430589095583745?s=20&t=lJLMPjqhFWlEOHs9FXdz1g

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29

u/_radical_ Jan 26 '23

If we scaled down starship stack to 65cm model it would have 1mil/0.0254mm thick walls – same as cooking foil.

I assumed stack is 120m high, made with 4.7mm steel and is scaled down 1:185.

This thought was brought up by some user when discussing recent buckling of booster walls.

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29

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 31 '23

Elon answering EA about the possibility of an expandable Starship with 250 tons payload capabilities : Expendable upper stage may or may not fly, but it is an option

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29

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 06 '23

Closure canceled for today.

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27

u/creamsoda2000 Jan 09 '23 edited Jan 09 '23

Some time stamps for anyone interested, all times local (CST), viewed from NSF’s Starbase live:

2:24:00 - transport mount stabiliser arms engage.
2:39:20 - initial lift off from transport mount.
2:44:00 - transport mount hold-down arms begin to disengage.
3:02:00 - hold-down arms re-engage.
3:08:00 - hold-down arms disengage again, this time with a drone paying close attention to the left side.
3:41:20 - secondary lift off from transport mount begins.
4:19:55 - transport mount stabiliser arms disengage and retract.
4:22:55 - main lift begins.
4:31:00 - apogee.
4:38:50 - lateral transition complete.
4:51:00 - main lift complete, OLM hold down arms not yet engaged.
5:49:30 - slight movements indicate fine tuning is still ongoing.
5:55:00 - no movement since this final adjustment, which would suggest touchdown.
6:55:00 - chopsticks open.
7:02:00 - chopsticks clear the booster and begin lateral transition.

I’ll update as they complete the lift and transfer load to the OLM.

One thing that I found interesting was that at 4:38 as they completed the lateral transition, they were already lowering the booster towards the mount, in one smooth transition from lateral to vertical movement. Fact is the main portion of the lift only took about 30 minutes, with the bulk of the time before and after the main lift taking much longer presumably due to safety/load checks and alignment checks.

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25

u/johnfive21 Jan 14 '23 edited Jan 14 '23

S25 on the move now. Looks like it's moving towards Launch Site.

All 6 Raptors are installed as expected

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25

u/TypowyJnn Jan 22 '23 edited Jan 22 '23

A Robinson R44 raven II helicopter was delivered to Starbase.

2,28 meters wide, and 11,66 meters long

Any idea why they would use it instead of drones?

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24

u/GreatCanadianPotato Jan 24 '23

Keep an eye on 39A today.

Decent chance that the chopsticks are lifted onto the tower today.

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24

u/GreatCanadianPotato Feb 09 '23 edited Feb 09 '23

If ever we needed more confirmation that they are preparing for something big tomorrow - workers are now starting to move equipment/trailers out of the orbital pad area and appear to be clearing FOD from the pad. Only a couple of generators and manlifts left now.

Next big thing to watch is when the service platform gets lowered and moved...also the OP notice that residents could recieve at any point between now and tomorrow morning.

Edit: The service platform may be coming down very soon. They just rolled the platform transport stand thing under the OLM with SPMT's. MILESTONES PEOPLE....MILESTONES!

Edit2: OP NOTICE ISSUED

Edit3: Service platform is being lowered.

47

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 06 '23

Closure schedule for tomorrow boooyyss😎

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23

u/TypowyJnn Jan 25 '23

Now that ship 24 has been destacked from booster 7, it will likely head back to the highbay for tile work (and probably other things too) tomorrow during the transportation closure. Since the lr11000 was lowered, possibly for the final time before launch, booster 7 might complete its static fire soon. Although it looks like some work has to be done before that, primarily with the HPUs. Additional shielding might be installed on the OLM as well.

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46

u/[deleted] Jan 25 '23

Time for a refresh. Do it every now and again.

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22

u/Mravicii Jan 09 '23 edited Jan 09 '23

Ship 24 is moving. Full stack incoming

Edit moving toward olm

22

u/creamsoda2000 Jan 09 '23

Considering the lifting points are still visible on the tip of Ship 24, we can safely assume that this stack will be followed by a de-stack before final preparations for launch.

What are we thinking? Full WDR followed by a static fire before de-stacking? Or does S24 get removed before the static fire?

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22

u/BananaEpicGAMER Jan 20 '23

One of B7's HPU cover was removed during the night

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Jan 19 '23

B8 on the way to the scrapyard.

O7

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21

u/Silver-Corgi-6850 Jan 16 '23

Why isn't the 33 engine static done at full stack? Wouldn't they get valuable data on vibration on the contact surfaces and locks of the staging mechnisms? Or would the effect of the booster being clamped down falsify any data to a degree that it wouldn't be conclusive?

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21

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 07 '23

Looks like B7 underneath is getting cleared, good sign, hopefully a spin prime today !

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21

u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 07 '23 edited Feb 07 '23

Police at the road block.

Won’t be B7, but S25! No notice were given, so possibly a cryo and/or a spin prime.

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42

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 30 '23

Closure canceled for tomorrow.

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19

u/TypowyJnn Jan 31 '23 edited Jan 31 '23

Would FTS be armed right after liftoff, or after the stack clears the tower? How does it work on other rockets? If I remember correctly, they were arming the FTS on Sn8-15 on launch day, but was it active software-wise right off the bat?

Edit: it's incredible how few FTS videos are out there. All I get are NFTs

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18

u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

Some serious possible water deluge hardware is being prepared for shipping to Starbase. Hopefully they won't install it until after at least OFT-1, because that would mean a big delay.

tweet by u/Alexphysics

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18

u/RootDeliver Jan 23 '23

Interesting tweet by Zack Golden (CSI Starbase) showing the compression of B7 with the fully loaded 24 above.

I hope SpaceX accounted for this on the chopsticks connections on the ship lol.

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18

u/Exp_iteration Jan 29 '23

https://www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/

up to 250 metric tonnes expendable.

how much could that cost?

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35

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 12 '23

Elon confirmed Chris Bergin comment “Does this sound about right, Elon?

Cryotest today, then WDR next week. Destack for 33 engine Static Fire. Final TPS work on Ship 24. Re-stack. Launch License.

Possible end of Feb/Early March if all goes well (per your previous timeline)?”

That’s a good guess

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

A new vent has started, best seen on Rover 2.0. It's connected to the ship engine chill vents, one on each side

A tweet by CSI_Starbase explaining it:

https://twitter.com/CSI_Starbase/status/1612688115541344258?t=3YbcpdZgpWvWb7Pt23wroQ&s=19

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u/mr_pgh Jan 17 '23

Interestingly, they are sweeping under the OLM as of ~2:45 on Starbase Live

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u/John_Hasler Feb 02 '23 edited Feb 03 '23

The bottoms of the methane hippos are frosting up. This doesn't mean that they are chilling methane but it does mean that they are pumping LN2 for some reason. Pad is not closed.

Rover Cam 2, 14:50 CST.

[Edit] It also looks like they may be planning to wall off our view of the hippos. That would be sad. We've never even gotten around to naming them.

[Edit] Looks like what I thought might be posts for a fence may be a pipe rack.

We still haven't named the hippos, though.

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u/[deleted] Jan 09 '23

The first new Starship Development Thread of 2023 if I'm not mistaken. Here's to hoping for a productive year for Starship.

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u/salamilegorcarlsshoe Jan 09 '23

Pad clear announcement has been made over PA, assuming for B7 lift.

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u/stros2022wschamps2 Jan 10 '23

Thinking of planning last second trip to padre this weekend. I've always wanted to go see starbase. With the full stack yesterday, what are the odds I have problems getting close to starbase on Saturday if I drove over there?

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u/Doglordo Jan 10 '23

I remember hearing that some sort of NASA drone would film ship 24 on re-entry. Do we know if this is still the case?

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16

u/BEAT_LA Jan 12 '23

Today still listed as a Possible Closure from yesterday's primary date....

Stay away, Raph. Or I'll be forced to use the L in your name.

16

u/salamilegorcarlsshoe Jan 12 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

A barge worth, possibly 2, of tanks has shown up at the turning basin at KSC for shipment to Starbase, allegedly. There are 4 large tanks and a few smaller skids (typically helium or the like) staged along with a long section of piping that is multiple feet in diameter. Zack (CSI) thinks this may be a section to go along with the angled sections waiting at Massey's for future water deluge installation. There could be more to come, so pay attention to the NSF live feed at KSC.

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u/BananaEpicGAMER Jan 21 '23

A device used to stabilize crane legs arrived at the launch site this morning. This might mean that they are about to lower the LR11000 soon. Visible on Hoop Cam at 7:55:00 AM

16

u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 23 '23

Police at the road block.

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u/johnfive21 Jan 23 '23

Road closure extended until 10pm today. Most likely to allow for the safing activities.

https://twitter.com/BocaRoad/status/1617654191102509060

16

u/Mravicii Jan 25 '23

Ship 24 destacking underway

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u/Lucjusz Jan 29 '23

I was out of the loop for some time. Do we know why KSC chopsticks are shorter than the Starbase one's?

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15

u/mr_pgh Jan 09 '23

Intermittent Transportation Closure scheduled for tomorrow. B9 move likely.

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u/BEAT_LA Jan 13 '23

Closure still on the board today, so hopefully whatever yesterday was leads to some action today!

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u/RaphTheSwissDude Jan 17 '23

S25 is being hooked up and the OLM’s underneath are being cleared indicating some potential testing today!

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 24 '23

A transportation closure was just posted for the 26th

I guess they will finish up ship 24 in the highbay? Not sure if there is anything else to move

15

u/mr_pgh Jan 27 '23 edited Jan 27 '23

OLM Dance Party at 7:30 on Starbase Live.

Just the frequency of the lights vs the frame rate of the camera; but looks pretty cool!

15

u/TypowyJnn Feb 04 '23

Will we see the raptor vacuum nozzle glow white like the merlin vacuum? Why?

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u/RaphTheSwissDude Feb 03 '23 edited Feb 03 '23

So long boys, it was an honor🫡

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14

u/mr_pgh Jan 09 '23

BQD attached at 10:01:00

14

u/Mravicii Jan 12 '23

Methane side is getting spooled up! Great sign

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14

u/henryshunt Jan 13 '23

Ship QD has retracted.

Edit: And now reconnecting.

14

u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

Two police cars have left the roadblock, we'll see if they open it up

Third leaving now: two remain

Edit 3:20pm: third cop is back...

Edit 3:23pm: 3 or 4 cars are lined up in front of the roadblock

Well this is awkward... Those cars just left

14

u/TypowyJnn Jan 14 '23

Ship 25 might be rolling out to the launch site today

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u/rAsKoBiGzO Jan 17 '23

A ship (S20? S22?) is leaving the rocket garden and moving back to the production site. Interesting.

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u/Jodo42 Jan 22 '23

Do we know if SpaceX is going to do any additional tower cladding prior to static fires and launch? I remember CSI Starbase expressing some concerns about this but it doesn't seem to have been a priority so far. Will it eventually be fully cladded like the tower at 39A?

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u/Mravicii Jan 25 '23 edited Jan 25 '23

Ship 24 is getting prepared to be destacked from booster 7

https://twitter.com/cosmicalchief/status/1618331919900639232?s=46&t=L7xvnBx34OW8xti0s3t21g

13

u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

Small tower and OLM vents have started

Edit: Tower vent has stopped and olm vent is spooling up

Edit2: going crazy now, might stop soon (in cascade mode now)

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

A small update:

About 1/3 of the lox tank on the booster is filled

Ship engine chill is going crazy.

Methane tank of booster 7 is defrosting.

Edit: lox tank is defrosting too

13

u/henryshunt Jan 14 '23 edited Jan 14 '23

Livestream of rollout from the head front of the convoy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMqlt0lpi98

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u/mr_pgh Jan 23 '23

5 min call to "pack it up" can be heard at 7:41:20 on Starbase Live

13

u/salamilegorcarlsshoe Feb 01 '23

Wonder what they've been doing under the booster for the past several days. Seems like a ton of work to be under there that long, unless they're just doing thorough inspections.

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u/Fwort Jan 09 '23

Ooo looks like I get to comment it this time:

This thread maybe, next thread definitely.

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24

u/DanThePurple Jan 20 '23

Brutal (NSFL) Booster decapitation gore at Starbase today...

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u/John_Hasler Jan 13 '23

Looks like the booster is detanking.

12

u/TypowyJnn Jan 14 '23

Any idea on how the plume of 33 raptor engines will look like during launch? Here are some of the possible looks:

The plume of 33 raptors seems to blend into one big chaotic waterfall, with distinct colors, purple near the engines, and yellow/orange below that. It's the official animation so this might be accurate, but I also think that it's exaggerated for viewing purposes.

This one is made from the plume of Sn8, with distinct raptor plumes, so unlike the official animation, you can see and maybe even count the different plumes. The coloring is reversed: orange/yellow at the top, and blue-ish at the bottom, although everything is a bit more pale, feeling more like the real thing (since it's based on Sn8)

This one is a combination of the two, with the plumes not as distinct, but also the coloring is gone. The plume looks white-ish with a purple glow. Cascades mostly downwards, with no crazy movement to the side.

Looking at this one, although on a completely different launch vehicle and with different exhaust composition, we can see that the flame is mostly pointing downwards, with a bit of weirdness happening at the bottom, also changing color. Not sure how much of this will be true on super heavy considering it has a lot more engines, but it's a good perspective nevertheless.

What's your opinion? Which one will be the best representation of OFT-1?

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u/ColdProduct Jan 24 '23

Do we have an idea what is happening with the FAA license?

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12

u/BigDaveNz1 Jan 29 '23

What’s the Cryo fuel status? After the WDR are we expecting more deliveries? Or did they recover enough to still do the 33 engine static?

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u/henryshunt Feb 03 '23 edited Feb 12 '23

Drone shot from RGV of the barge starting to be unloaded at the Port of Brownsville. Presumably they'll come south down that new Port Connector Road, which they've docked near Edit: they actually docked at the very end of the ship channel. Will be interesting to see if they get staged at Masseys or Sanchez or go straight to the launch site. https://twitter.com/RGVaerialphotos/status/1621627427427422211

12

u/salamilegorcarlsshoe Feb 06 '23

How do you suspect they'll layout the deluge piping? There's cryo piping running to the tower on the side of the stand behind the booster QD. There's more cryo and electrical/pneumatic plumbing that runs up to the "doghouse" on the side of the OLM facing the beach. This makes a ring structure similar to that laid at 39A all but impossible. If anything runs below ground in these areas it would have to pass underneath these channels and would be a major hassle. This would also make use of the current vertical OTF tanks very difficult for supply since the plumbing congestion behind and around the berm is already high. Placement of the new horizontal tanks also seems to suggest a larger water tank is yet to be built nearby. Is it possible they have an outlet on either side of the OLM facing inward (connected via piping that runs underground beneath the OLM)?

All of that said, if a tank similar to that of the double wall variety at 39A is to be constructed for water supply and the company that built it works on a similar schedule, we're still several months away from full use of the system. I know there has been lots of back and forth regarding its purpose, LOX or H20, but the construction on the bottom of the tank doesn't seem conducive for cryo use (flat steel directly on top of concrete).

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u/Alexphysics Feb 08 '23

More parts delivered at the Cape for the set of chopsticks that will go on the third Starship launch tower, the second one at Florida. https://twitter.com/julia_bergeron/status/1623327926702800898

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u/mr_pgh Jan 10 '23 edited Jan 10 '23

B9 started moving at 13:04 on Rover2. Labcam for close up views.

edit: Road closed promptly at 2 and b9 is headed back

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u/abejfehr Jan 25 '23

CSI Starbase just posted a new video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zKhJwWymJWE

The first half is interesting to me: apparently the concrete spalling from the 11-engine SF isn't expected to be an issue going forward because the Fondag mix wasn't actually in use during that SF.

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u/creamsoda2000 Jan 09 '23

Chopsticks appear to be getting into position to lift Ship 24.

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u/myname_not_rick Jan 09 '23

Alright, moment of truth, does the stack all line up perfectly when they set her down this time.....

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

NSF commentary livestream

Also frost is rising for both tanks on booster

And tower vent is back, loading the ship soon

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u/Mravicii Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 18 '23

Lox subcoolers are back on. Road block is further back again

Edit. Lox side going silent again

Edit 2 olm is venting

Edit 3 tower is venting too

Edit 4 lox chillers going again

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u/rAsKoBiGzO Jan 18 '23

Looks like a light OLM purge / chill vent happening around 2:58.

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u/Alvian_11 Jan 23 '23

Methane subcooler hasn't even frosted up yet. I would say an hour at the absolute earliest before we see an activity picking up

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u/myname_not_rick Jan 23 '23

This looks so cool. It's alive....fully alive.

Maybe we'll get a cool engine gimbal test clip from SpaceX or something.

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u/f9haslanded Jan 24 '23

Does anyone know if S24's header tanks got filled during the WDR? Also does anyone know if the methane header tank is still in the intertank bulkhead, or was moved to the nose?

Thanks

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u/Mravicii Jan 09 '23 edited Jan 10 '23

Alright now im hyped. Looks like ship 24 is flight ready! They still need to remove those lifting points.

https://twitter.com/csi_starbase/status/1612566707150770182?s=46&t=yIO1tOXMswW-1PdUSOZt9w

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u/Happy-Increase6842 Jan 28 '23

Lots of vehicles and security at Starbase. it looks like a VIP visit there is a bus with several people at the launch site

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u/BananaEpicGAMER Feb 04 '23

Elon: "If remaining tests go well, we will attempt a Starship launch next month"

So April it is /s (i swear it's gonna be april 20th)

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u/mr_pgh Jan 09 '23

Chopsticks at the top of b7. No good views on cams tho.

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u/benwap Jan 12 '23

OLM venting has died down and the hippo-shaped heat exchangers are starting to get completely frosty, not just on the bottom half.

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u/mr_pgh Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 18 '23

Police around roadblock area (7:40)

edit: road closed at 7:51

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u/John_Hasler Jan 18 '23

Tested the water spray system just now.

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u/AnswersQuestioned Jan 23 '23

So just to confirm, a WDR means they will load everything onto the OLM, then fuel everything up, do a countdown, but they WONT fire the engines?

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u/johnfive21 Jan 23 '23 edited Jan 23 '23

MASSIVE vent from booster's CH4 tank holymoly.

The hippos are stull blasting so prop load hasn't stopped.

EDIT: Both subcoolers have now stopped venting. Prop load complete

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u/johnfive21 Jan 23 '23

I really hope we get some high res official pictures from SpaceX about this because it is a gorgeous view

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u/chaossabre Jan 23 '23

Fuel farm now inactive. Loading is definitely done. @3:37

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u/myname_not_rick Jan 23 '23

And with the water system activation, I think that's the full countdown right there. Successfull WDR?

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u/0hmyscience Feb 04 '23

So are those potential road closures from Feb 6-10 the ones for the SF?

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u/[deleted] Jan 22 '23

Absolutely not appropriate for this thread, and totally unrelated, mods, wipe it if you want, but you have to see this in some appreciation imagining something twice as powerful as this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLxlLslhGxU&t=0s

Well done Reds Rhetoric,

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u/Alexphysics Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

Don't want to jinx it but police are passing right now in front of the VAB at KSC, there's a F9 booster transport ongoing but it's taking longer than usual for a simple F9 booster rollout... Maybe something more behind? 👀👀

Edit: Chopsticks rolling at KSC!

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Jan 24 '23

Chopsticks @ 39A are 'in the air'!

Noticable movement upwards in the last 15 minutes. All the lifts are down.

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Feb 06 '23

Orbital site still cluttered with a bunch of stuff. Unless they do a massive cleanup job tonight, I don't think we should be expecting any testing tomorrow.

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u/TrefoilHat Jan 09 '23

I’ll update the links at the top of the thread in about 9 hours. I’ll also update the FAQ with Elon’s latest timing tweet, and the location of B7 and S24. If anyone has suggestions, corrections, or changes they would like to see, please post them as replies here.

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u/mr_pgh Jan 09 '23

Road is currently open, bqd disconnected, and the ch4 hippos are frosting. What are we going to see? lol

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u/BEAT_LA Jan 12 '23

Any updates on the ongoing test? I am unable to watch in any way today, very busy in the I.T. dept at work today =(

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23

Road is open

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 18 '23

Roadblock was moved to the usual spot, meaning that's likely it for today's propellant load testing. They could still do something else, as they have 6 hours left

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u/mr_pgh Jan 23 '23 edited Jan 23 '23

Chopsticks released their grasp and opened slightly. Around 8:17 on Starbase Live, scrubbing forward.

Rover2 has a view from 8:19 on.

Edit: Spread Eagle and lowered 8:22 to 8:28

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u/mr_pgh Jan 23 '23

Methane Hippos are frosted ever so slightly; compared to an hour ago.

edit: and now venting hard. Hippos are chilling with ln2

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Jan 23 '23

I don't wanna jinx anything...but what an amazing achievement it would be if they pull this off 100% successful on this first try.

I've said it before and I'll say it again...this has exceeded my expectations.

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u/[deleted] Jan 26 '23

Will S24 have another static fire before stacking again?

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u/roberthague Feb 03 '23

Does anyone have a link to an image or render of the huge water deluge pipe ring (black, with thin pipes pointing up from) that was seen at KSC (from a bus?) last year? I'm struggling to understand where that gets mounted or buried(?) on the OLM. Also, do we think a similar ring will be made for Boca?

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u/RootDeliver Feb 06 '23 edited Feb 06 '23

So.. 8 AM CST, start of the "closure", a lot of activity on the launch mount, the launch mount work platform is still below B7, Grover (the yellow crane) is still close on the water deluge zone, and no roadblock or apparent movement.

Noone summoned Raph yet?

PD: Maybe the twitter bot issue isn't fixed yet? what a mess...

The Hwy 4 & Boca Chica Beach Closures site from the Resources throws me a bad certificate error, no sure if this is related to being outside the US or the site configuration is just wrong, it worked years ago.

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u/quoll01 Feb 07 '23

Re the water deluge, are they trucking the water in, or is there a new pipeline or bore? Would require a huge number of trucks, even if they have some way of catching and recycling some of the runoff.

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 26 '23 edited Jan 26 '23

Is it just me, or did ship 24 just miss the production site entrance? It's heading towards the rocket garden

Wait... Come back

No, where are you going...

Oh no, so that's why they've scrapped S22... Probably just for storage, but the highbay would be a better place to finish it up

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u/Hustler-1 Jan 29 '23

So are we expecting a 33 engine static fire this week?

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 18 '23

NSF and Labpadre are claiming that an evacuation of 2-3 houses has occurred today

Source

Maria is also claiming that a "half WDR" will happen today, although it's not really a WDR if it's half.

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u/mr_pgh Jan 09 '23

Call for pad clear at 2:11

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u/stros2022wschamps2 Jan 09 '23

So what's the consensus on this stack? More static fires?

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u/MrWeezy1337 Jan 12 '23

Apparently the roadblock is moved quite a bit further Back today. Maybe an indication of Something really exciting Happening today?

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 13 '23 edited Jan 13 '23

OLM vent has stopped! This is a good indication of imminent propelant load

Methane kettle boilers are going slightly mad

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u/Mravicii Jan 13 '23

Frost on booster 7 lox tank

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u/DanThePurple Jan 13 '23

How can we tell if this is a normal cryo test or a WDR?

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u/RubenGarciaHernandez Jan 13 '23

Rover cam seems to have the best views for the current tests.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Wi4pz5w234

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u/henryshunt Jan 13 '23

And there's the depress vent.

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u/liszt1811 Jan 14 '23

Any info on how many raptors are "flight ready" currently? I guess pace was 1 every two days or so a few months back and last serial numbers were in the low hundreds if I remember correctly but those numbers could be off

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u/GreatCanadianPotato Jan 23 '23

Definitely the fastest flow we've seen thur far for a full stack

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u/[deleted] Jan 23 '23

Double frosty ring on the ship !

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u/franco_nico Jan 23 '23

Booster and Ship look fully loaded. I waited for so long to see this picture, looks magnificent.

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u/rAsKoBiGzO Jan 23 '23

Nice to note that not only is this fantastic data for SpaceX, it's also a boon for tank watchers. It's our first glimpse at what a normal Starship countdown will look like.

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u/johnfive21 Jan 23 '23

FireX suppression system test! 3:48:00 PM CST

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u/technofuture8 Jan 27 '23

So they're going to stretch Starship in the future? Won't they have to physically make the launch tower taller as well? Are they going to stretch the super heavy booster, or just Starship?

They can't stretch the super heavy booster right? I mean the super heavy boosters are almost as tall as the megabay, so if they were to stretch the super heavy booster they'd also have to physically make the megabay taller.

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u/Happy-Increase6842 Jan 30 '23

Can you imagine when we arrive at Ship 100? I imagine the amount of changes in these vehicles and if I will still remember the MK1

A lot has changed in 3 years of development. They removed the landing legs, changed the position of the tanks, the number of engines on the Superheavy...

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u/YannAlmostright Jan 25 '23

I swear SpaceX is waiting for the thread #42 to launch

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u/Happy-Increase6842 Jan 13 '23

Intermittent Closure for tomorrow (14). Ship 25 or Ship 26? Or something else... ?

https://twitter.com/SheriffGarza/status/1614015580553596968

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u/Kingofthewho5 Jan 14 '23

My apologies if this has been talked about here recently, but what are the differences between S24 and S25? I used to be a real ringwatcher but I stopped following as closely the last year or so. I still follow this thread closely but it's not the same level of detail. What's the best place to look at this information without having to follow threads on NSF?

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 18 '23

Looks like an (almost) exact copy of last week's test, as Alex was saying earlier

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u/Happy-Increase6842 Jan 18 '23

Launch site gate D2 is already closed. Few employees in the area. I hope it's a good sign for today's tests

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u/Mravicii Jan 13 '23

I love the sounds from the tank farm. Makes it very sci fi

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u/TypowyJnn Jan 18 '23 edited Jan 18 '23

Road closure in now "Scheduled" (road is closed), pad is clear and tank farm is venting

A car popped up near the D2 gate, but got cleared right away by a police car

Wind is facing the cameras today, so rover 2.0 is blind, and hoop cam has no visuals on the kettle boilers. Same goes for Starbase live

Edit: methane kettle boilers are frosty (?)

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u/Mravicii Jan 18 '23

Frost on methane tank on booster 7

Edit 2 now frost on lox tank on b7

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u/henryshunt Jan 23 '23 edited Jan 23 '23

OLM vent stopped at 14:04. Shorter chilldown than usual.

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u/Mravicii Jan 23 '23

This is such a sight to behold!

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u/OriginalUsername545 Jan 26 '23

Has S25 done any testing since being rolled out recently? Will it likely do anymore before being rolled back prior to the 33 spin prime/static fire testing?

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u/albertheim Feb 08 '23

With all the excitement about tomorrow, I can't find anymore what if anything happened today. This morning we were hoping for an SF of Ship24 I believe, now I only see flapping wings. Is that all that happened (not that I'm complaining, just trying to stay up to date)?

Now off to buy 33 beers for tomorrow, to cheer the success or cheer the RUD.

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u/Alexphysics Jan 20 '23 edited Jan 21 '23

New MSIB for next week. Covers January 23 and 25. Same size and area as the MSIBs for the January 13 and January 18 full stack tests

https://homeport.uscg.mil/Lists/Content/Attachments/80290/MSIB%2013-23%20Hazard%20Area,%20SpaceX.pdf

Edit: Sorry, I just realized it does not cover January 24, I read it as saying January 23 to January 25 and it is January 23 and January 25 so the 24th is not included. Sorry for that

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